Ch. 2: Breaking the Code in Digital Spaces


The topic of how to teach students to use technology and attain meaning from it is often circling throughout my brain in one form or another. I find myself questioning how I’ll be able to teach with technology if I don’t feel comfortable enough using it on my own. Sure I consider myself to be relatively “techy,” when it comes to my personal use of technology, but how does that translate into my ability to incorporate it into the classroom? Over the past couple of weeks, I have discovered two key terms that can help in my ability to use technology in the classroom. Code breaking is the ability to understand how a technology works. This idea is closely tied to meaning making in that we have to understand the ins and outs of how a technology works before we are able to effectively find and take away meaning from it. To put these concepts into practice, I have spent some time creating in various digital spaces that were unfamiliar to me.

I started off with creating a Bitmoji character of myself. I already had a bit of a background on Bitmoji characters as I’ve seen them around, particularly on social media such as Snapchat, so I knew the general premise of what I was to be creating. My code breaking came into effect in creating this avatar because I had past experience in creating online comic strip characters for school projects and so I was able to connect those skills in creating my Bitmoji. I also was able to tinker with the site and try out a bunch of options, another form of code breaking, before selecting my final Bitmoji, giving me a better understanding of how all the components of the application worked. I was able to use the notion of meaning making because I was aware that, as this was a representation of myself, people would associate a belief of who I was based on my Bitmoji character; therefore, I needed to ensure my Bitmoji looked appropriate. This also occurs in my selection of the various Bitmoji poses I have available to me now that my Bitmoji character is created. With my knowledge of meaning making, I deliberately choose poses that convey the types of messages I think are appropriate for the given context I am using my Bitmoji in. For instance,  if I were to use a Bitmoji pose in my response to a student’s work, I could use one of these two options:
       
This may seem like a bit of an obvious example, but my understanding of how we take meaning from the things we see and read in digital spaces is ensuring that I am clearly going to choose the good job pose because it conveys my message in the way that I seek for it to be understood. It is in a professional manner, unlike the more relaxed bro-to-bro connotation that is assumed from the dope pose.

Another digital space that I attempted to code break this week was Word Art. I had past experience using other word cloud image generators so although this was a new digital space, the general concept, and way of creating seemed very familiar to me. I didn’t need to tinker around with the site too much before creating my final piece. Thus I was able to break the code on Word Art very quickly. Also, understanding the concept of meaning making, I was able to make cautious word choices to ensure that my overall art piece was conveying the right overall message that I had intended. 

From my learning of these two concepts, I was not only able to better navigate new digital spaces, but I have also learned that introducing technologies into the classroom doesn't have to be as scary as I thought. By knowing what code breaking entails, I will be able to present new digital spaces to my students and ensure that I am giving them those code breaking opportunities of asking questions, tinkering, etc. As I have been through the process myself, I know a bit more about what to expect when allowing my students those same opportunities to code break. Also, with my knowledge in meaning making, I can ensure that I make a point of educating my students on the importance of making choices that depict their overall message appropriately. I can definitely say that as a result of learning these terms I feel a lot more comfortable about the notion of having technology in my future classroom because I am aware of how to interact with new digital spaces in meaningful ways and would be excited to bring my students along on that journey. Hopefully, you’ll continue with me on my journey into the next chapter of this textbook to discover more about digital literacies in the classroom. Until next time!

~ Megan                                     

                                   
References
Bitstrips Inc. (n.d.). Your own personal emoji. Retrieved October 3, 2018, from
      https://www.bitmoji.com/
Hinrichsen, J., & Coombs, A. (2014). The five resources of critical digital literacy:
      A framework for curriculum integration. Research in Learning Technology, 21, 8-9.
      doi:10.3402/rlt.v21.21334
The fastest way to share a moment! (n.d.). Retrieved October 3, 2018, from
      https://www.snapchat.com/
Word Cloud Art Creator. (n.d.). Retrieved October 3, 2018, from https://wordart.com/





Comments

  1. UnknownOctober 15, 2018 at 6:54 PM

    Megan, you've provided interesting insights into code breaking and meaning making.. By creating and sharing the avatar and word cloud images, you are modelling digital fluencies and skills just as you've outlined in this blog post. You've indicated that you'll be able to provide similar code breaking opportunities in the classroom. How do you see avatar images being created if students are not able to access or use Bitmoji - are there alternative ways to create these images? Helen DeWaard.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. UnknownOctober 22, 2018 at 9:45 AM

      Hi Helen!
      I feel like there are many ways students will be able to go about creating avatar images. For any age group, I might start off small by having them create drawings of themselves and the things they like and taking pictures of these to act as avatars of themselves in the digital spaces we use. There are also numerous different avatar creator sites that can be found simply by googling personal avatar creator; however, teachers must be sure to test these sites first as not all of them are appropriate for use in the classroom! If students don’t like the actual human-like representation of themselves, I could also allow them to just choose images of items that they think reflect themselves, still being able to teach them the importance of representing themselves honestly and appropriately in digital spaces.
      - Megan

      Delete
  2. Taylor HogarthOctober 19, 2018 at 8:46 PM

    Megan, I really enjoyed that you incorporated hyperlinks into you blog post so individuals can have a better understanding of what you are talking about! I definitely agree that it is important to fully understand the technology before incorporating it into a classroom setting, and using new platforms can be a very scary thought! When it comes to my learning, I also like to use background knowledge from previous projects to help with understanding new concepts. While teaching, it is important to understand that not all students will have background knowledge about what is being taught. (Hinrichsen & Coombs, 2013). How can we as teachers introduce code breaking and meaning making in ways that will benefit an interdisciplinary approach to teaching? Also, what is one way that you could incorporate bitmoji into your classroom? Thank you for sharing such great ideas!

    Hinrichsen, J., & Coombs, A. (2014). The five resources of critical digital literacy: A framework for curriculum integration. Research in Learning Technology, 21, 8-9. doi:10.3402/rlt.v21.21334

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. UnknownOctober 22, 2018 at 10:00 AM

      Hi Taylor!
      I’m glad you enjoyed the post! Your insights into background knowledge are very accurate.. We have to be diligent as teachers to ensure we are teaching for the benefit of all our students and not assuming they all have the same background knowledge. I think that new technology, that allows for meaning making and code breaking to occur, can be incorporated to benefit an interdisciplinary approach by ensuring that multiple different types of technology are being utilized beyond just powerpoints or videos. Rather, there should be types of technology that align with visual learners, as well as technologies with auditory components, and even hands-on, interactive components. I see bitmoji being used as a visual representation of the students that reminds them that what they do online, directly reflects who they are as a person. I want students to feel some type of attachment to their bitmojis as a reflection of themselves and use it whenever they can when creating online.
      - Megan

      Delete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Ch. 3: How do I know if this is right?: The Ins and Outs of Analyzing Digital Resources

Image
How do I know if I’m doing it right? This is a question that I know I have been guilty of asking many times throughout my student life, as I suspect many other students have and will continue to ask. This question is especially important for how it relates to technology and digital spaces. I often find myself delving into these new digital spaces, trying to interact and engage with them, before being hit with those initial thoughts of “What am I doing? Is this right?” So that leads me to the question of how can I, as a future teacher, ensure that my students can answer these questions on their own? Recently I have been learning about using, analyzing, and creating in different spaces, understanding that to work effectively in digital spaces, we must ask questions about the tools we are using to better understand their benefits. This ability to ask questions is what I have come to know as the process of analyzing (Heinrichsen & Coombs, 2014, p. 9-11). Analyzing takes place before
Read more

Ch. 4: A Wrap-Up on Critical Digital Literacy

Image
Identity is something that, as teachers, we often encourage our students to generate. We tell our students to be true to themselves and write so that their voice comes across. But how might those teachings about identity translate into the online world? These past few weeks I have been examining the concepts of digital persona and digital citizenship for the ways that identity is constructed in digital spaces. Essentially digital personas are the equivalent of one's identity/persona in the real world but are just modelled digitally. What I have learned is that, as teachers, we must ensure that anything we post online ensures that our reputation as a teacher is not corrupted. We must remain professional, responsible, and respectful in how we choose to present ourselves digitally. We are citizens of a digital world, and therefore, it is our responsibility to interact in a manner reflective of how we interact as citizens in the real world. I also believe this is something that should
Read more